Car top chord



Jan. 14, 1958 w. c. SLEEMAN 7 ,81 89 CAR TOP CHORD Filed Jan. 20, 1954 AI lnvenfor' I Villiam C. Sleeman .Aii-orney United States Patent CAR TOPCHORD William C. Sleeman, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to Pullman-StandardCar Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of DelawareApplication January 20, 1954, Serial No. 405,122

3 Claims. (Cl. 105-406) This invention relates to a railway hopper orgondola ear and specifically to an improved top chord construc- 'tion. IWith respect to gondola cars where clam shell-like buckets are used forloading and unloading, a strong top chord construction and one with noprotruding portions is imperative. The constant threat of the bucketstriking the top chord coupled with the actual amount of striking deemsnecessary the aforementioned features as distortion of the top chordwould weaken the side sheet adjacent the distorted area and causeeventual failure of the entire side.

And likewise with respect to a hopper car, a structurally strong topchord construction is necessary, particularly where a side-vibratingshake-out device is used.

Thus, the principal object of this invention is to provide a top chordconstruction having improved structural strength.

Another object of this invention is to provide a top chord constructionhaving improved structural strength and yet capable of efiicient andeconomical manufacture and assembly.

A further object of this invention is to provide a top chordconstruction for use with either a gondola or hopper car, fulfilling thestructural and performance requirements of each.

These objects and other objects will become apparent from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, broken, side elevational view of a railwaygondola car embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the car in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the present invention taken onthe line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

It is to be noted that while the invention is shown and described in oneembodiment, it is not to be so limited and that modifications of thisinvention may be had without varying the spirit and scope of the objectsas defined in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, a gondola railway car having a side supportedby a side sill 11, top chord arrangement 12, end plate 13, and end sill14 is depicted.

The floor supporting structure at the crosstie is of the usualarrangement (Fig. 3) wherein a floor plate 15 is secured to a side sheet16 by usual means and rests at its ends on a gusset plate 17 connectingthe plate 15 with the I shaped crosstie beam 18. A supporting plate 19is secured between the base of the crosstie 18 and the side sill 11.

Side posts 20 are longitudinally spaced along the outside of the sidesheet 16, are secured thereto, and form a right angular basis of supporttherewith for the top chord 12. Lading strap anchors 21 may be securedto the side posts 20. A corrugated end sheet 22 is secured to the endsill 14 and the end plate 13 and wraps around the edge of the end sidesheet 16.

The top chord arrangement 12 comprises a small upwardly facing channelbeam 23 and. a larger downwardly 2,819,689 Patented Jan. 14, 1958 facingchannel beam 24. Tubular spreaders 25 may be inserted which act toseparate the channel beams and also provide openings along the top chordfor applying lading strap anchors or bolts for lading blockings. As aportion of the top chord is cut away for a ladder (not shown) anextension plate 26 is provided. The legs 23a of the beam 23 and the legs24a of the beam 24 are of approximately equal cross-sectional length andwidth. By overlapping the legs 24a over the legs 23a, approximately adistance equal to the cross-sectional. width of either leg 23a or 24a,the adjacent legs may be secured by weld seams 27, only a singleautomatic welding pass being necessary for both weld seams. Lading;strap anchors 28 may be secured to an outer leg 23a and an inner leg24a, being in approximately the same verticalplane of the side sheet 16,offers a generally flush sur-- face on the inside of the car.

Thus, a structurally strong top chord is provided which offers noprotruding parts on which a clam shell-like bucket might catch, whichoffers a generally flush inner ear surface adjacent the top, and which,by being adapt able to a single welding operation, is structurallystronger and not as subject to distortion as a top chord havingindividually made welds.

What is claimed is:

1. In an open top railway car, a side sheet, a side post secured to saidsheet, the top of said post forming with said sheet a right angularseat, and a top chord inserted on said seat and comprising an upwardlyfacing channel member secured to said sheet and said post, and adownwardly facing channel member secured to said upwardly facing memberin an overlapping manner and forming therewith a box-like arrangement.

2. In an open top railway car, a side sheet, a side post secured to saidsheet, said sheet extending vertically a distance beyond the top of saidpost, and a. top chord comprising an elongated horizontally disposedupwardly facing channel-like member having a base, an inside leg and anoutside leg, said base being secured to the top of said post, and saidinner leg being secured to said sheet and extending thereabove, aU-shaped lading strap bracket secured to said outer leg, an elongatedhorizontally disposed downwardly facing channel-like member secured tosaid upwardly facing member by welding and in an overlapping manner, anda tubular-like spreader inserted between said members.

3. In a railway car, a side sheet, a side post, and a top chord securedto said sheet and said post comprising a horizontally disposed upwardlyfacing first channel-like member having legs, and a horizontallydisposed downwardly facing second channel-like member having legs, thelegs of the second member being of approximate equal cross-sectionallength and width with the legs of the first member and overlapping thelatter legs a distance substantially equal to the width of a leg, and aweld seam securing each adjacent pair of legs, said seams being in thesame horizontal plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS132,087 Latrobe Oct. 8, 1872 1,308,299 Sage July 1, 1919 1,308,300 SageJuly 1, 1919 1,649,492 Small Nov. 15, 1927 2,183,015 Foulds Dec. 12,1939 2,544,525 Cadwallader Mar. 6, 1951 2,613,986 Heyl Jr. Oct. 14, 1952FOREIGN PATENTS 462,070 Great Britain Mar. 2, 1937

